This application is the national phase of international application PCT/FR98/01915 filed Sep. 8, 1998, which designated the U.S.
1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a bicycle pedal with safety fixing for a shoe equipped beneath the sole with a cleat furnished with a catch directed forward, the pedal being mounted rotatably about an axis.
2. Description of the Related Art
The invention relates to a bicycle pedal with safety fixing for a shoe equipped beneath the sole with a cleat furnished with a catch directed forward, the pedal being mounted rotatably about an axis.
The pedal relevant to the invention is of the kind of those which comprise:
a retaining means running transversely at the rear of the axis of rotation of the pedal, this retaining means being situated in front of an opening in which the cleat of the shoe can engage, and being able to cooperate with the catch of the cleat so as to ensure retention of the cleat and of the shoe upward and forward; and
a holding member, situated at the rear of the pedal and mounted movably along the longitudinal direction, able to be applied by elastic return means against the rear of the cleat so as to thrust it against the retaining means and ensure fastening.
A pedal of this type is known, in particular from FR-B-2 564 414, FR-B-2 574 743 and EP-B-0 169 080. FR-B-2 564 414 and EP-B-0 169 080 correspond to U.S. Pat. No. 4,762,019, and FR-B-2 574 743 corresponds to U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,882,946 and 4,762,019.
Such a pedal increases the safety of the cyclist by allowing fast release of the shoe, especially to prevent a fall, by a twisting movement of the foot. Among other advantages, it should be stressed that the sole of the shoe bears directly on the pedal, a small distance from the geometrical axis of rotation, without being separated therefrom by the cleat which becomes housed in an opening situated to the rear of the bearing zone; the efficiency of pedaling is thereby improved.
Although this fixing device operates in an entirely satisfactory manner, xe2x80x9cshoe attachmentxe2x80x9d, that is to say the fastening of the cleat and of the shoe to the pedal, is not as easy as desired.
The objective of the invention is, above all, to provide a bicycle pedal with safety fixing of the kind in question which, whilst preserving the advantages recalled hereinabove, allows easier and faster xe2x80x9cshoe attachmentxe2x80x9d, in the sense defined earlier. It is also desirable for the pedal to be of simple, reliable and robust construction.
According to the invention, a bicycle pedal with safety fixing, of the kind defined earlier, is characterized in that the retaining means provided on the pedal is mounted in such a way as to be able to be displaced forward, countering elastic return means, in particular under the action of a thrust exerted by the cleat, and to return to the position of fastening of the catch under the action of the elastic return means.
Preferably, the retaining means consists of a pin parallel to the geometrical axis of the pedal and displaceable parallel to itself.
Advantageously, the pin is supported by two radially oriented arms, capable of pivoting about an axis parallel to the geometrical axis of rotation of the pedal, the assembly of the pin and of the arms being subjected to the action of at least one torsion spring.
The pin and the arms may form a single piece bent into a U, made in particular of steel wire, those ends of the arms which are remote from the pin being wound into a helix, oppositely directed, on each side so as to form a torsion spring. The windings of the torsion springs are substantially coaxial, parallel to the axis of rotation of the pedal, and a rod is threaded into these windings so as to serve as a support for the springs and for the pin, this rod being engaged in holes provided on each side respectively of the pedal.
Advantageously, the holding member and the retaining means have a substantially symmetric geometrical configuration with respect to a plane parallel to the axis of rotation of the pedal and perpendicular to the midplane of this pedal. The holding member is likewise formed by a pin with arms, constituting a single piece bent into a U, those ends of the arms remote from the pin being wound into a helix, in the reverse direction to the substantially symmetric windings of the retaining means.
The torsion springs of the retaining means tend to hold it separated from the rear edge of a plate of the pedal covering the axis of rotation, while the torsion springs of the holding member return the holding pin toward this rear edge of the plate of the pedal.
The two parallel pins define therebetween a window whose width can firstly increase, under a substantially vertical thrust of the cleat furnished with inclined edges bearing against the pins, so as to allow the passage of the cleat and of its catch, then thereafter decrease with fastening of the cleat catch by recoil of the pin forming retaining means.
Preferably, those ends of the torsion springs remote from the arms are extended by a radial extension coming into abutment beneath a crossbar provided at the rear bottom part of the pedal.
Advantageously, one and the same crossbar with two inclined opposite lower edges, serves as a stop for the radial extensions of the arms of the retaining means and of the holding member.
The invention also relates to a device for fixing a shoe to a bicycle pedal as defined above, formed by the combination of the pedal and of at least one main cleat able to be fixed beneath the sole of a shoe and to cooperate with the retaining means and the holding member of the pedal.
The invention consists, apart from the arrangements set forth hereinabove, of a certain number of other arrangements which will be dealt with more explicitly hereinbelow with regard to a particular exemplary embodiment described with reference to the appended drawings, but which is in no way limiting.